Differential cytokine production in stimulated blood cultures from intensive care patients with bacterial infections

Mice infected with bacteria develop an interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) dependent hypersensitivity to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and other bacterial components. The broader aim of this study is to find out whether such hypersensitivity also occurs in patients suffering from bacterial infections. The capac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection 1997-07, Vol.25 (4), p.206-212
Main Authors: MITOV, I. G, KROPEC, A, BENZING, A, JUST, H, GAROTTA, G, GALANOS, C, FREUDENBERG, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Bacteremia - immunology
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Concanavalin A - pharmacology
Cytokines - biosynthesis
Female
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Hydrocortisone - blood
Infectious diseases
Intensive Care Units
Interferon-gamma - biosynthesis
Interleukin-6 - biosynthesis
Leukocytes - immunology
Leukocytes - microbiology
Lipopolysaccharides - adverse effects
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Radioimmunoassay
Salmonella typhimurium
Staphylococcus aureus
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - biosynthesis
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Summary:Mice infected with bacteria develop an interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) dependent hypersensitivity to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and other bacterial components. The broader aim of this study is to find out whether such hypersensitivity also occurs in patients suffering from bacterial infections. The capacity of stimulated peripheral blood cells from infected, intensive-care patients to produce cytokines (IFN-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) was compared to that of healthy donors. Culturing of the cells was carried out preferentially in whole blood diluted 1:3. Whole blood cultures (WBC) were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), whole killed Salmonella typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus and concanavalin A (ConA), and the cytokine production was determined. Two main findings emerged from this study: The IFN-gamma production by WBC of patients was, compared to healthy donors, markedly suppressed, regardless of stimulus used. Further, patients' WBC exhibited a suppressed TNF-alpha production after stimulation with LPS. Surprisingly, following stimulation with bacteria (S. typhimurium and S. aureus) an elevated TNF-alpha and IL-6 response was obtained. Thus, in severely infected patients the cytokine responses of peripheral blood cells to LPS may be suppressed, while the response to other bacterial components is enhanced.
ISSN:0300-8126
1439-0973
DOI:10.1007/BF01713144